


Walnut and Dragon

by iam93percentstardust



Series: The Road to Ilvermorny [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Birthday, Gen, Ilvermorny, Ilvermorny House - Thunderbird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2019-02-03 06:26:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12742824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iam93percentstardust/pseuds/iam93percentstardust
Summary: Andi wasn't sure she fit in at Ilvermorny, until she met Kiley and Alle and the other Thunderbirds.





	Walnut and Dragon

Andi twirled her new wand- walnut and dragon heartstring- between her fingers absentmindedly, relishing in its feel. Around her, other students were chatting animatedly with each other. She, however, remained quiet, simply listening to the ebb and flow of conversation.

When she’d first found out she was a witch, she hadn’t been sure that she truly belonged in this world. With her wand in her hand, though, she felt far more comfortable.

“Hi! I’m Kiley,” a cheerful voice said next to her.

Andi looked to her left to see a young girl sitting beside her, holding her hand out. “Andi,” she said, smiling and shaking the proffered hand.

Kiley jerked a thumb at another girl sitting across the table. “That’s Alle.” Alle spared the briefest of glances to wave at Andi before returning her attention to her meal.

“Is this your first year too?” Kiley asked.

Andi nodded. “I had no idea that all the stuff I could do was magic until I met Professor Winters. I just can’t believe there’s really magic.”

“Me too. Alle says that my family must be No-Majs.”

Andi looked back over at Alle and said, “Are your family No-Majs?”

She shook her head. “Nah. My family’s magic as far back as we can trace. My parents even met here.”

“Really?” Andi hadn’t even known that there was such a thing as magical families, having assumed that witches and wizards were scattered throughout the world. Now that she thought about it, it made sense though. Magic must be like some sort of gene. Alle nodded eagerly and opened her mouth but another voice cut her off.

“Thunderbird first years! This way!”

“That’s us!” Kiley squealed, leaping from her seat. Alle stood too, albeit a bit slower. “Are you coming?”

With a jolt, Andi realized that Kiley was asking her. Just as suddenly, she realized that over the last few moments she had already made two new friends. A warm glow effused through her at the thought that she wouldn’t be facing the year alone. They followed the source of the voice, an older student, back out into the grounds along with the other Thunderbird first years- Andi estimated there to be about twenty or so.

The older student led them to a large copse of trees around the back of the castle. Andi gasped softly- fairy lights glittered in the trees, a result of the huge treehouses that nestled in the trees. Each treehouse was at least two stories tall, connected to the others by a series of rope bridges. The largest one had four stories. In one of the trees perched a glimmering gold and white bird. Andi recognized it from its statue in the hall: a thunderbird.

“That’s Frank. He keeps other students from getting into the dorms,” the older student said. She led them to the base of the tree with the largest treehouse. The tree had to be several hundred years old, Andi thought, with it as gnarled as it was. The student reached out and pressed a pattern of knots on the tree- how she knew which ones to press, Andi could only guess.

From seemingly out of nowhere, a wooden staircase appeared and spiraled up around the tree. Andi’s jaw fell open. This casual use of magic amazed her. She couldn’t believe that she was going to be a part of this world, that she too could use magic so nonchalantly.

She and the other first years followed the older student up to the balcony encircling the treehouse. The student cawed loudly, beckoning the thunderbird down. It flew down in graceful circles, scattering raindrops as it went. Andi was able to dodge the light rain; Alle and Kiley weren’t as lucky. Now that she could see the thunderbird closer, she noticed the old scars on the majestic creature’s neck.

“What happened?” she asked the older student.

“Frank was captured by slavers back in the 1920s,” she said, reaching out to stroke Frank’s neck. “We were lucky that someone found him and brought him back.”

The student turned to the group of first years. “Welcome to Ilvermorny!” she said cheerfully, raising her voice. “I’m Miranda Silverton. These are the Thunderbird dorms. Each year has their own treehouse. This one-” she gestured to the one behind her, “-we like to call the Clubhouse. All years are welcome here. We’ve got study rooms, a small library, and even a breakfast nook in case you don’t want to eat in the Great Hall.”

Beside her, Frank cawed softly and Miranda turned to him. “Frank here protects the dorms and controls the weather around the castle. He’s the one that will let you into the treehouses. You can’t get in unless he allows it so I’ll let you guys get acquainted. Once Frank knows your scents, he’ll move to let you in.”

She slipped past the giant thunderbird into the treehouse, leaving the first years alone with Frank. They shuffled about nervously until Andi finally mustered up her courage to step forward, holding out a hand for Frank to smell.

After a tense moment, he let out a sort of comforting chirp and moved aside. Andi walked past him in a bit of a daze (a thunderbird guarded her room!) and into the Clubhouse. A loud cheer greeted her. It seemed that the entirety of the Thunderbird house- all hundred some odd of them- was there to meet her.

Miranda stepped forward to shake her hand. “What’s your name?” she asked.

“Andi Crawford,” she said softly, a little shy.

“Welcome Andi!” Miranda yelled and an echoing cheer answered her. Immediately, she was thrust forward to meet the other Thunderbirds. Every once in a while, there was another loud cheer as another first year joined them. After a few minutes, Alle found her and then Kiley. Standing side by side, they greeted the older students.

Andi also took the chance to look around the common room. She wouldn’t have expected fireplaces in a wooden treehouse but there they were, looking as organic as the tree itself. Maps were scattered across every available horizontal surface- and some of the vertical ones as well- aging from thousands of years old to made only a few days earlier. In the corner, there was a large collection of leather journals in a locked bookcase. On the opposite wall, a huge photo mural showed moving pictures of what looked like each current student.

Eventually, Miranda shooed the other students out of the common rooms, leaving only the first years. “This is the common room,” she said when the room was finally quiet again. “As you can tell, we’re all a bunch of wanderlust-struck nerds.” She led them to a map of the country with glowing pins. “Each pin represents a Thunderbird’s home.”

She pointed at the photo mural. “Each student gets their picture put up there for starters. You can add anything else as you want but you have to have at least one picture up.”

Then she led them to the locked bookcase. “These are the journals of every Thunderbird who’s gone to Ilvermorny. You’ll get yours tonight and you’ll keep it for the rest of your life. It’ll come back to the Clubhouse for future Thunderbirds to read.”

The first years eyed the bookcase with a newfound appreciation. “Where do we get our journal?” Andi asked.

Miranda grinned. “Next to your bed. Come on. It’s late and you’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

She led them to the balcony and then to one of the rope bridges. Pointing across the bridge to the nearest treehouse, she said, “This is the first year’s dorm. Common room is on the first floor, girls on the second, and boys on the third. The door’s keyed to your magical imprint so don’t try getting into the other dorm. Night!”

Then, she was gone.

Hesitantly, the students made their way across the bridge to the treehouse. There, the two groups separated and the seven girls climbed the stairs to the second floor. Upon opening the door, they were greeted with the sight of seven four-poster beds, each with its own dresser and bedside table.

Fearlessly, Andi led the way into the room. She found her trunk next to the bed farthest from the door. This, it seemed, was her bed. As she prepared for bed, she listened to the chatter of the other girls, throwing a sassy comment in every few minutes. Exhausted, she finally collapsed into bed, thinking to herself that this really could be her new home.


End file.
